


love (is the best medicine)

by jjokkiri



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, sick!hyungwon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 23:09:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10954656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjokkiri/pseuds/jjokkiri
Summary: Hyungwon has a cold, but the members warm his heart with all their love.





	love (is the best medicine)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [puppykihyun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppykihyun/gifts).



> I took the bait, when a _certain someone_ told me I’d never write a Hyungwon-centric fic where he was basically shipped with everyone, because of my ships. So, please have this mess of soft, sick!Hyungwon.

The bundle of blankets on the sofa in the living room was highly concerning to every single member of the band who was floating around the dorm and not hiding in their respective rooms. From early morning, they’d been avoiding walking into the living room in order to not walk past the ball of blankets. Not because the bundle of blankets was actually threatening, but because there was _someone_ was curled up in the blankets and breathing heavily, though fast asleep under the thick layers of quilted, white cotton.

Today, Jooheon had been the first to get out of bed and he’d been in for a shock when he walked into the living room to be greeted with the mysterious blanket-ball. His immediately instinct had been to wake Hyunwoo up, because if it was a monster under the pile of blankets, then surely, Hyunwoo would be able to fight it, right? He was the biggest member—that definitely meant that he was going to be able to fight the monsters, according to Jooheon’s mind.

Unfortunately, Hyunwoo told him he was ridiculous and curled back into bed, before Jooheon rushed to wake up the other members to help his cause. And slowly, all the members rose from their beds to check out the blanket-ball which had frightened their main rapper. All but Kihyun, whom they’d all been too afraid to wake up. Apparently, having a mysterious blanket-ball in the middle of the living room, while they all stared at it was a thousand times less frightening than waking Kihyun up on their day off of work.

Huddling in a circle in the living room hall, the members spoke in hushed whispers—afraid to wake Kihyun up. Every battle required a plan—there wasn’t a single hope for the boys to walk straight into a fight without messing up, if it weren’t perfectly organized. That was just the kind of people they were (and surely, that was why the fans loved them, right?).

“Wait, where’s Hyungwon?” Minhyuk whispered to the circle, when he realized that there were only a total of five people huddling around one another. It seemed as if he was the first to notice the missing member. Collectively, the group turned to look around the room for the tall, handsome vocalist.

“Missing,” Hyunwoo quipped, helpfully. And with Kihyun still in bed, the obvious remark went unnoticed by the rest of the group.

“Was he not in bed?” Jooheon asked, brows furrowed in confusion. “Wasn’t he above you, Changkyun?”

All the attention turned to the lead rapper, and Changkyun blinked helplessly at them. The youngest member immediately shook his head, “I don’t think so.”

Quickly, the group of five shuffled to the entrance of the room Hyungwon was meant to be in. They were greeted with an empty room, and the members looked to one another, confused. Out of all the members, Hyungwon was the one member most probable to be still in bed—especially at an hour where even Kihyun wasn’t awake.

Hoseok’s eyes widened in horror and he looked to the blanket-ball, “Wait!” came the hushed exclamation, “What if—what if _that_ ate him?”

And as if Hoseok were actually making a valid point, the members all glanced at one another, freezing.

It’s Jooheon who speaks: _“Quick, wake Kihyun up!”_

They end up sacrificing Changkyun to go wake Kihyun up, because it was a toss-up between who Kihyun would be _less_ upset with for waking him up. The members tossed a coin between Hoseok and Changkyun—tails for Changkyun, and he’d been entirely too lucky (“It’s the only fair way,” Minhyuk had insisted with a firm nod of his head). The youngest member shuffled into Kihyun’s shared room and inched towards his bunk bed, nervously.

“Hyung,” he called, quietly—hands daring to reach out and gently tap on the main vocalist’s arm to urge him awake. Kihyun’s eyes slowly opened and he raised an eyebrow at Changkyun, groaning as he stretched his arms above his head.

_“Mm?”_

“Hyung,” he repeated, “We think Hyungwon hyung got eaten.”

It’s enough for Kihyun to shoot out of bed.

 

 

 

“You’re all a bunch of idiots,” Kihyun told them, crossing his arms over his chest with a frown on his lips. The other five members peered at him from behind the doorframe, each with innocent looks on their faces and small pouts. It would be scarier if Kihyun had his hands on hips, but this was significantly better. “He’s just sleeping on the sofa because he’s sick.”

The remaining members blinked at him, wordlessly and Kihyun sighed. “He has a cold,” he told them, “We have to make sure that he gets better, especially with the upcoming schedules. That means that he needs to stay in bed—or the couch—whichever he wants, until he recovers, and if he fights: tell him he can fight Hyunwoo hyung.”

“Me?” Hyunwoo asked. Kihyun fixed him with a look, and the leader nodded, “Okay, sure.”

“Are there any complaints?” Kihyun pressed. Immediately, the members shook their heads. They weren’t scared of Kihyun, per se—he just happened to always know what to do when someone was sick, so they strictly followed his instructions, every single time. It had something to do with how their main vocalist and their lilac-haired lead vocalist seemed to rely on one another when they were ill. There was an established trust for illnesses.

“This is _Plan A_ , right?” Minhyuk and Changkyun both asked in unison. And it brought a smile to Kihyun’s lips, amused and somehow endearing. _Plan A—_ pamper with attention in shifts and take care of the sick member until they get better.

“Correct,” Kihyun said, “I’ll go first. You guys can draw straws between yourselves.”

And then the members were all scrambling off to determine their own orders in taking care of Hyungwon. Kihyun exhaled, before he turned on his heel and made his way over to where Hyungwon was laying on the sofa. The main vocalist crouched down beside the younger man, heaving out a short sigh. Hyungwon’s eyes immediately opened and he looked at the older man.

“Why’d you sleep on the couch?” he asked, softly. Hyungwon shifted, groaning quietly.

“Didn’t want to infect everyone,” he replied. Kihyun rolled his eyes, placing the back of his hand against Hyungwon’s forehead.

“Don’t be stupid. You should sleep in your bed, because it’s more comfortable there. I would have accepted it if you said that you didn’t want to wake the others up with your coughing, but you don’t seem to be coughing at all.” Kihyun arched an eyebrow, before continuing, “We all live in the same place. If you’re going to infect anyone, you’re going to infect everyone. We all breathe the same air.”

Hyungwon made a face at him, “Are you going to bully me, because I don’t have the strength to fight you?”

Kihyun flashed him a sweet smile, “No,” he replied. “I’m going to make you some soup. You’ve been laying there since we got back last night, right?”

Because Kihyun’s never needed to say anything for Hyungwon to know that he cared.

 

 

 

“Kihyun made you some soup,” Hoseok told him, crouching down next to the younger man and placing the small bowl of soup onto the coffee table in front of them. “Hyunwoo hyung will bring you medicine in a bit. He went out to get you some.”

“Thanks,” Hyungwon murmured. “I’ll have it later.”

“No,” Hoseok said, “I have to wash the dishes, today, so I’m not leaving until you eat this all.”

“Hyung, I can’t even move right now,” Hyungwon complained.

At the sound of the remark, the lilac-haired vocalist raised the spoon he was holding with a smile on his lips, as if he had every single one of Hyungwon’s moves calculated and anticipated. It wouldn’t be surprising if he did. Hyungwon was one of the members who was more predictable when he was sick. He would reject the attention at first, and then he’d let himself be showered in the affection from his members. The older members, especially Kihyun and Hoseok, happened to know it very well—they took care of him well.

“You can move your mouth enough to talk back,” he said, “So, you can certainly eat if I feed you.”

“You can’t be serious,” Hyungwon said.

Hoseok shrugged. _He was serious._

It was almost impossible to convince Hoseok otherwise when he was set on something, and if he wanted to feed Hyungwon, simply because the younger man was practically bedridden—or couch-ridden, in this case—then, no one was going to be able to stop him. Hoseok was insistent, and none of the other members would ever want to make someone like him upset. Between the members, there was a joke that Hoseok was like a _very sensitive dad_ —caring, nurturing, but _so_ sensitive.

“And, just because Kihyun’s in the kitchen, doesn’t mean you’re not going to get scolded.” Hoseok said, picking up the bowl of soup into his hands and dipping the spoon into it. Hyungwon groaned, burying his face into the cushion on their sofa. Hoseok made a face in response to the way Hyungwon avoided his gaze and the spoon of soup.

“Sit up a little,” he instructed. “I can’t feed you, if you’re not willing to eat.”

“Hyung—,” he started. Hoseok clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, disapprovingly.

“Chae Hyungwon, sit up.”

“Hyung!”

“Up. Blankets up, too. Before I talk your ear off. You need to eat.”

_“Hyung!”_

Huffing, Hoseok placed the bowl back down onto the coffee table, frowning at the younger man.

“You know I’m just worried, _please_!” he exclaimed, sounding obviously upset.

And it’s enough. Reluctantly, Hyungwon pouted as he shifted and sat up, folding his hands into his lap on top of the blankets.

“Fine,” he sighed. Hoseok’s smile was almost immediate when he picked the bowl back up.

_“Say ah.”_

 

 

 

“Are you contagious?” Jooheon asked, quietly. He’d approached so quietly that Hyungwon almost didn’t notice him, until there was a shadow hovering over him. Hyungwon rolled his eyes as soon as they cracked open again. He had been curled under the covers for roughly half an hour, alone after Hoseok had left him to wash the dishes.

“Yes,” Hyungwon answered. Jooheon looked visibly frightened at the sound of a contagious illness and he inched away, slightly. Hyungwon looked at him, seriously, “I’m going to cough on you.”

“Don’t tease me!” Jooheon exclaimed, finally realizing that Hyungwon was kidding. Surely, Hyungwon would be contagious at some point, but it would unavoidable if they all lived under the same roof—he didn’t need to be afraid, and Hyungwon _wasn’t_ cruel enough to actually cough on him to prove a point. But, at the expression on his face, Hyungwon laughed until he managed to cough on his own laughter. Panic struck the younger man.

Despite being afraid of contagious germs a few moments ago, the main rapper was quickly on his feet and gently patting Hyungwon’s back to calm his coughing. Hyungwon brought a hand up to his chest and coughed into his arm with Jooheon patting and rubbing his back, a little awkwardly. It helped, but it was a strange feeling, because Jooheon was so fearfully gentle with him.

When the coughs died down, Jooheon frowned at him, “See, this is what happens when you tease me! You hurt yourself,” he scolded.

“Not you too,” Hyungwon managed to say. “Kihyun and Hoseok hyung already scolded me.”

“Because you deserve it,” Jooheon replied, simply. The rapper crossed his arms over his chest, as he sat down on the coffee table. Kihyun wasn’t in the dorm—he’d left with Hoseok and Changkyun to get more groceries, else he’d be scolded for sitting down on the table. “Everyone in this dorm knows that you’re the only one who doesn’t properly take care of yourself, when you’re sick. Why do you think we have action plans, every single time you get sick?”

“You have action plans?”

Jooheon blinked at him, pretending to not know what he meant, despite having just said it, “What action plan?”

Hyungwon managed to bite back a smile at Jooheon’s bad acting. The younger members always seemed to try and play everything off with humour and smiles. It was why he seemed to get along with them, so well. They had similar senses of humour, and Hyungwon treasured them _so_ dearly. It warmed his heart to know that in his moments of need, all of his members were willing to put everything to the side and help him.

“Tell me if you need anything, okay?” Jooheon told him.

 

 

 

Hyungwon was fast asleep on the sofa by the time it was Minhyuk’s turn to take care of him. The red-haired vocalist approached the sofa with surprisingly gentle footsteps. Minhyuk was always extremely careful when any of them were sick, for a reason he refused to let any of them know. Perhaps, it was the fear that they would all grow tired of his attempts at humouring them through everything, or maybe he was like Jooheon—terrified of germs, when someone else was sick.

Carefully, Minhyuk placed a glass of water and a couple tablets down onto a napkin, before pulling out another napkin and grabbing the pen which someone had left lying around on the table. Quickly, he began to scribble out the instructions which Hyunwoo had recited to him, according to the pharmacist who had given him the pills. It was a wonder to him why Hyunwoo couldn’t just switch their roles and deliver the medicine for himself.

The sound of Hyungwon’s soft snoring was peaceful behind him, and Minhyuk could feel his heart swelling in affection at the reminder that, although sick, Hyungwon was getting the rest he deserved. They all deserved to rest, after working so hard, but it was enough to watch as the one who needed the most rest was able to lie down. Placing the pen down and reading over his written instructions, Minhyuk pursed his lips, before drawing a small smiley-face at the end of his note for good measure.

Hopefully, Hyungwon would see it when he woke up.

Turning his head to look over to the sleeping man, Minhyuk’s lips pulled into a small smile, and then he couldn’t resist the urge to reach his fingers out and touch.

Gently, slender fingers ran through Hyungwon’s hair and he smiled, “Get better soon,” he whispered.

“We need you, you know. It’s not the same without you running around and fighting with Kihyun, or whining for attention like the baby you are.”

And, although Hyungwon couldn’t hear him—although he’d be gone, by the time Hyungwon woke up—he hoped that the younger vocalist knew how much they treasured him.

Quickly rushing, with soft padding footsteps to the kitchen, Minhyuk wet a small towel and folded it carefully, returning to Hyungwon’s side to lay it gently on his forehead. And before he left, he picked the pen back up, scribbling in tiny characters at the bottom of the note: _get better. We love you. With love, your favourite Minhyuk hyung._

 

 

 

And he was awake, by the time it was Hyunwoo’s turn to come and sit by his side. Unlike the other members, the leader of the band sat on the sofa directly across from him with his elbows rested on his knees, feet planted flat against the floor and watching him. It was typical of Hyunwoo to behave completely different from the other members—it was why there was the ongoing joke that he was the father of the group: different, unique and _infinitely caring._

But, Hyungwon couldn’t help but feel bad for being unable to attend tomorrow’s earlier schedules. Hyunwoo had contacted their manager, and they’d been told that Hyungwon needed to rest up, because their next week of schedules was going to be a lot more intense. Overseas schedules, and tiring fan-meets; no matter how much they promised the fans that they simply needed to see their faces to reenergize, they were all human, and that was far from the most effective method.

“I can see you thinking,” Hyunwoo told him, after a moment of silence. Surprise crossed Hyungwon’s eyes and he looked to his leader, shifting to sit up properly for a moment. Hyunwoo shook his head, frowning at him, “Lay back down,” he said, softly.

And it wasn’t a secret to the rest of the band that Hyunwoo took a little extra care whenever he was with Hyungwon. It wasn’t favouritism—there was just something about Hyungwon that he could see; something that needed a little bit more nurturing, and more gentle care. And Hyunwoo took his role as a leader seriously—they had confidence in him, so he had confidence in himself. Starting with Hyungwon, he’d manage to care for each and every one of them in his own way.

They both didn’t talk a lot—perhaps, that was why they felt the need to stick together and care for one another. It would make sense.

But, it was something that they’d both never find the answer to. Their chemistry was unique in itself, and there wasn’t a need to learn more about how well they worked together.

“Kihyun was right when he said that you needed to rest, you know,” Hyunwoo told him, as he obeyed the instructions and slowly laid back down against the soft blankets.

Hyungwon had made Jooheon bring him the blankets from his bunk bed, before the young rapper had left him alone to rest, and the suffocating heat was somehow soothing despite his body burning. He wasn’t sure a warm towel was placed on his forehead, but he could assume that it had been Minhyuk—the older vocalist was the only one he hadn’t been awake to see.

Hyunwoo continued to speak, “Our greatest priority is making you feel better. Don’t apologize for being sick. It happens to the best of us. Rest up.”

A pause.

“And, tell us if you need anything at all,” Hyunwoo added, flashing a small smile at him. Weakly, Hyungwon managed to nod and Hyunwoo’s smile faded into a more satisfied, pleased expression.

“Hyung,” Hyungwon called, after a moment of silence. Hyunwoo raised an eyebrow, indicating that he was listening. Taking a breath, Hyungwon’s fingers curled into the blankets wrapped around him and he bit down on his lower lip. “… Thank you.”

His leader smiled at him, “You don’t need to thank me. You know we’d do anything for you.”

 

 

 

“Changkyun,” Hyungwon groaned, burying his face into the sheets which had been provided to him by Hyunwoo. Changkyun sat by his feet on the floor, his back leaning against the sofa. At the sound of his name being called, the younger boy looked up at him with his lips pursed into a small frown, clearly concerned with the sound of Hyungwon’s weak voice calling him.

“Yes, hyung?” he asked, eyes shining eagerly with the willingness to help. Hyungwon had seen that look in every single member’s eyes, all day. And they’d continue to treat him like a prince until he got better. Sometimes, there were perks with being one of the members with a _stronger_ immune system, because it meant the fuss was bigger, whenever you got sick—not that everyone didn’t freak out every single time Shin Hoseok sneezed. “Do you need something?”

“Yes,” he replied, “I need you to move away. You’re going to get sick.”

The lead rapper’s expression immediately dropped at the request and Hyungwon found it in himself to feel a little guilty for letting the words leave his lips. Changkyun looked a little bit like a kicked puppy at the instructions, but out of concern, Hyungwon couldn’t just take it back to make Changkyun smile again. The younger man immediately shook his head, stubbornly. “Kihyun hyung said that you have a cold. I can handle that, if I get sick. It’s okay, I’ll stay with you.”

“No,” Hyungwon said, “You’re going to catch a cold and all the members are going to have a headache when they take care of the both of us.”

Truthfully, Changkyun had just gotten over a cold of his own—one that he carried around secretly, only letting Kihyun know, so that the older man would quietly treat his illness. It would be harder for Changkyun to catch a cold when he was just recovering, but he wasn’t going to tell Hyungwon that.

“Hoseok hyung told me to stay with you,” Changkyun told him. “You don’t want Hoseok hyung to be upset, right?”

There was a pause—Hyungwon thinking about the consequences of their second oldest member being upset. If Hoseok was upset, then for the next week, it would be like a raincloud cast over the entire dorm and rained relentlessly, no matter how much Minhyuk smiled. That was how it worked. If Changkyun was so insistent on staying by his side, regardless of whether or not he’d get sick, then Hyungwon would have to live with it.

Not listening to Kihyun was one thing, but upsetting Hoseok wasn’t worth it, Hyungwon decided, sighing and settling back into his spot on the sofa with a small frown on his lips.

Changkyun beamed, realizing his victory.

And there was a moment of silence between them, Hyungwon holding onto the warm cloth which had been gingerly placed on his forehead by Minhyuk and Changkyun smiling at him. Taking shifts in taking care of Hyungwon was exhausting, but the members still managed. Changkyun had been taking naps throughout the day so he could stay up with Hyungwon when the other members were fast asleep, if Hyungwon couldn’t fall asleep. Somehow, it warmed his heart to think about it.

“Hyung, do you want to watch a movie?” the rapper’s voice was quiet, and Hyungwon looked at him. Changkyun’s smile grew, innocently and Hyungwon could feel affection swelling in his chest for the younger man—for the members he could proudly call his second _family._

“… Can I pick?”

“Of course.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are highly appreciated. Feel free to find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kkyunjus/), as always!


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